Kenya Project

The Kenya Team is led by three co-leads: Parker Woods, Ben Montminy, and Megan Pritchard. The main goal of this team is to have sustainable water access for communities all over Kenya, the lack of which can lead to underlying health issues. Very recently, this team has had the opportunity to travel out to Kenya and implement their first hand pump to extract water in a safe and cost free method for the community. Parker Woods has stated, “The next steps in the project is to actually create a second hand pump to prevent traffic for the one pump since it is meant to cover a large amount of land and the people in it”. In doing the same project, the team hopes to be able to finish this pump more rapidly since the first one took almost two years to complete. Once the pump is done and the necessary funds are available, the team hopes to strengthen connections with the communities in Kenya and learn more about their way of life.

Uganda Project

The Uganda Team is led by two co-leads: Sam Kraus and Vincent McGlynn. The Uganda project specializes in solar energy for electricity distribution for the communities in Uganda. Only about 18 percent of the houses in rural communities have electricity, which is a hindrance for the advancement of health, education, security, and businesses. To make matters more difficult, Uganda is right next to the equator, which leaves the communities with only 12 hours of sunlight. The Uganda project has been going on since 2007, and since then there’s been 8 implementation trips and 5 assessment trips to help schools have access to electricity. The most recent trip happened this past August, which helped Kshek Jr. School gain 4.5 kW of solar energy as well as assess the needs of the school such as water access. The next steps for the team is creating a sand water filtration system for the school using the local river Atar. Currently, the team is looking to raise funds for an August 2023 trip in which they will implement the water filter as well as monitor and evaluate the implemented solar panels on the school.

Nicaragua Project

The Nicaragua Team is led solely by Austin LaVigne. This team focuses on minimizing food insecurity in Nicaragua through the use of a seed bank. The seed bank would allow for a cheaper and more environmentally friendly source of food rather than purchasing seeds from outside seeds . The communities having their own source of food also opens up opportunities for trading, which can boost their economy and benefit relations with neighboring communities. In their most recent trip in January 2020, the Nicaragua team went out to the community in need to assess land for a sizable seed bank and the environment of the community to plan around the design specifications, all while connecting and creating a bond with the people and learning more about the culture.

While EWB is most known for helping those in different countries, the students work locally to fundraise and support the community they call home as well. EWB students at Virginia Tech take part in many fundraising activities to help fund their travels, volunteer in the Big Event, and help out in any ways they can to make sure they can still make a difference wherever they go.

To learn more, visit EWB VT social media: Website: http://ewbvt.org/

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